


Sixty Years

by cosmic_dumbass1



Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Angst, Animaniacs - Freeform, Crying, Dot Warner - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Sibling Bonding, Trauma, Wakko Warner - Freeform, Yakko Wakko and Dot, Yakko Warner - Freeform, Yakko Warner Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29197209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_dumbass1/pseuds/cosmic_dumbass1
Summary: he thinks it's a joke when they're first locked in. by the start of the first week, yakko realizes it's not.
Relationships: Dot Warner & Wakko Warner, Dot Warner & Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner, Dot Warner & Yakko Warner, Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner
Comments: 7
Kudos: 70





	Sixty Years

**Author's Note:**

> TW: brief mention/slight description of vomiting

The day they were locked away in the water tower was like any other.

Yakko was nine at the time, his younger brother Wakko was six and their younger sister Dot was five. They had been parading around the Warner Brothers lot as usual, wreaking a bit of havoc every which way as they made the humans scream in fright. Ralph the security guard was hot on their tail, butterfly net behind his head in a supposed-to-be threatening manner. It made Yakko laugh. There was no threat at all from a slow guy who'd never caught the Warner siblings in his life.

Granted, they'd only been alive for a few days, but still.

It wasn't until Yakko heard a shriek from Dot that he stopped running from Ralph and turned around. Wakko was behind him, staring up at Ralph, Dot in the butterfly net, held high above their heads.

"Hey, you put my baby sister down!" Wakko cried, pounding a closed fist against Ralph's leg. 

"Yeah, Ralphie, put her back down here!" Yakko exclaimed, glaring up at the security guard.

"Why- I, uh, well I-" Ralph stammered, looking up at Dot. "Co- come with me and I'll give her back!"

Wakko turned and glanced at Yakko, who nodded. "Fine. We'll come with you, but you have to give her back. Okay?" Yakko said, walking up to stand by his younger brother.

"Got it!" Ralph saluted with his free hand before escorting Yakko and Wakko across the lot. The brothers were silent, frowning as Ralph led them towards the boss's office. The direction was changed once they neared, however, and they were guided towards the Warner Brothers Water Tower.

"Al- alright, right up there's where you go!" Ralph said, looking down at Yakko. "I'll give you your- your sister back once you get up there!"

Yakko and Wakko exchanged looks before doing as Ralph said. They scaled up the water tower, never looking down as they climbed to the top. They turned around and saw Ralph up there with them, Dot in hand. He gently dumped her onto the ground next to Yakko and Wakko, flinching back when she chomped on his ankle. Wakko pulled her back while Yakko frowned up at Ralph.

"Why are we up here, Ralphie? It's awfully high!" Yakko faked being scared, trying to see what Ralph's motives were.

"Why-why this is your new home!" Ralph said, moving past the Warner siblings to open the water tower door. "Right in here's where you'll live!"

"Really?" Wakko excitedly asked, bounding forward before Yakko could stop him. He watched as Dot followed behind before he glared up at Ralph again. "Why are you giving us a home? Aren't we pains in you guys' butts?"

"Haha, you said butt!" Wakko poked his head out of the entrance to the water tower, tongue sticking out of his mouth as he smiled at Yakko. Yakko smiled back before shooing him away.

"Y-yes, but you don't have anywhere to, to go so we gave you one!" Ralph ushered Yakko towards the entrance, smiling down at him. "Go on, it's your home now."

Yakko nervously stepped inside, glancing around. It was fairly spacious, but bland. He watched as Wakko playfully chased Dot around, growling when she yanked on his tail and whimpering when she bit him. Yakko moved forward to intervene, reaching out for his younger siblings.

And then the door slammed shut.

And they were trapped.

**____________________**

After what felt like hours of trying to open the door to the tower and calling for help, Yakko slumped against the metal door. He looked up at the ceiling as tears flooded his eyes.

This was a really mean joke to play on three little kids.

A tear slipped down Yakko's face and he sniffled, wiping it away before more started rolling down his face. He looked down, burying his head in his hands as he quietly sobbed.

"Yakko?"

He looked up to see Wakko standing in front of him. He looked small in the faint light from a candle Yakko had retrieved from his hammerspace earlier, the bad lighting casting a weird glare across Wakko's face.

"Yeah, little sib?"

Wakko glanced down at his feet before shyly glancing up at Yakko. "Can we go out? I have to potty..."

Yakko's eyes widened and he wiped the rest of his tears away. "We can't go outside yet, the joke isn't over yet."

"But how will I potty?" Wakko asked, tears filling his eyes as he looked up at Yakko. "You know how you got your mallet, baby bro?" Yakko started, reaching behind his back to pull out his own mallet. Wakko nodded, copying Yakko and grabbing his mallet from behind his back. "Good, good! You can grab anything you need from your hammerspace, did you know that?"

"Hammerspace?"

"It's where you just got your mallet from! Maybe you can pull a toilet from there?"

"Ooo!" Wakko nodded, reaching behind his back. After a few seconds, his face lit up and he retracted his hand, showing off a brown sack.

"This isn't a potty!" Wakko frowned. He looked inside the bag, reaching a hand in. Yakko watched, tilting his head curiously when Wakko let out an 'Aha!'.

Wakko pulled a toilet out of the bag.

"Got it! Thanks, big brother!" Wakko gave him a smile before running off. Yakko just sat, bewildered, before standing up to take care of Dot.

**____________________**

They had been in the tower for a whole day. Yakko had grabbed a clock from his hammerspace and was able to guess when Ralph had locked them in compared to the time now. He sat in front of the door and stared up at it, blocking out Dot and Wakko's playful screeches as he waited for the tower door to open once more.

It eventually went silent, but Yakko didn't notice, not until there was a tap on his shoulder and Dot appeared in front of him.

"Yakko, can we leave? It's not fun being in here anymore." Dot pouted, looking up at him with puppy eyes.

"I'm sorry, little sis, we can't leave yet. I bet they're planning a _big_ surprise party, just for us! And they put us in here so we don't peek!" He leaned forward and tickled Dot's sides, smiling at the squeals of happiness she let out. "Will there be cake?" Wakko piped up, bounding forward to sit in front of Yakko as well.

"Obviously, what party would it be without having cake? And I bet there'll be one just for you to have, all to yourself!" Yakko exclaimed, reaching forward to tickle Wakko's sides as well. His younger brother laughed in delight, and the three of them delved into a full on tickle fight.

Once everybody had calmed down, Yakko took it upon himself to get them sleeping bags. They'd curled up in a pile the night before, too tired to care about the sleeping arrangement, but it'd hurt Yakko's neck to sleep with his two younger siblings piled on top of him.

He was able to pull out three sleeping bags and three pillows, lining them up towards the back of the tower. He placed them a couple of inches apart and fluffed up the pillows so they'd be comfortable to lay their heads on. Once bedtime hit, Wakko and Dot curled up and fell asleep quickly, tired after another full day of playing. Yakko, however, couldn't get to sleep that easily. He was still confused as to why Ralph hadn't let them out yet.

What was going on that the Warners couldn't be in the outside world to see it?

**____________________**

It had been a week, and Yakko had come to terms with the reality of their situation.

They were intentionally locked in and trapped in the water tower.

He hadn't told Wakko or Dot, they were only little. He doubted they'd even understand.

**____________________**

Yakko tiredly smiled as Wakko bounced off the walls, excited because it was his birthday. Yakko made sure his little sibling had the best 7th birthday ever, even with his limited resources.

They had now been locked in the tower for 3 months. Yakko had gotten a calender from his hammerspace to keep count. It hung next to the tower door, a sad decoration on the bare walls.

The three of them were snug in their beds that night. Yakko had gotten them frames from his hammerspace after a month, it hurt his back to lay on the floor every night. He heard Dot snore, but didn't hear Wakko's snores. As if to answer his question as to why, Yakko heard Wakko take a deep breath in.

"Big bro?"

"Yes, sib?" Yakko repsonded, staring up at the ceiling.

"They aren't letting us out, are they?"

Yakko felt his stomach drop. He sighed, rolling over in bed to face Wakko. "I dunno, Wak. I think they might've got too tired of our antics."

"But what about the party you said they were making? I thought there was a party!" Wakko said, a slight whine to his voice.

"I don't know, Wakko, alright? Just go to bed, you don't need to worry about what's going on, okay?"

He got no response, but that was fine by him. Wakko was only seven, now, he didn't need to be worrying about their situation. He should just be a kid, play with his sister, have fun.

Yakko wished he could do the same.

**____________________**

It'd been seven months in the tower and Yakko was starting to go even more insane. Dot had turned 6 in those 4 months since Wakko's birthday, and now Yakko had to figure out how to teach her to read and write like he and Wakko were taught. She didn't learn well with books that Yakko pulled from his hammerspace, so he found making the books into songs was more enjoyable and effective for his baby sister. Wakko also liked to listen in on Yakko's educational songs, he said it helped him learn too.

Yakko guessed that made sense, his baby brother had always struggled a bit with learning.

Wakko and Dot had stopped getting along as great as they did when they were first locked in. Now it was constant bickering and fighting that Yakko had to breakup, and when he did intervene the fighting was then aimed towards him. Dot didn't know when to stop, even at six years old, and Wakko didn't do much to help. The combination made Yakko do all the work, even though he already was.

He was tired.

He just wanted out. He wanted to see the outside world again, wanted to wake up and see the stars rather than waking up to see the metal roof for the millionth time. He wanted to run free, see the world, leave the tower behind him as he and his siblings ran away from this hell.

**____________________**

Yakko woke up on the day of their one year mark of being locked away with a pain in his stomach. He was 10 now, but he felt so much older. He'd had to grow up a lot to properly raise Wakko and Dot, and he felt very mature for his age.

Back to the pain in his stomach, though. It was overbearing, and he rushed to the bathroom they had built in the back part of the tower. He closed the door behind him, not bothering to be quiet about it and hovered over the toilet. He puked into the toilet, groaning in pain as tears rolled down his face.

When he was done, he weakly opened the door and found Wakko and Dot sitting in front of it, staring up at him. They both scrambled up once he emerged worried looks on their faces.

"Are you okay, Yak?" Wakko anxiously questioned, looking up at Yakko with wide eyes. Yakko patted Wakko's head as he walked by, letting out a grunt as he flopped into bed. He heard Wakko and Dot pad along after him, but he just shoved his face into his pillow and groaned.

"Yak?" Dot sounded scared. It broke Yakko's heart a little, so he turned around and looked at her.

"I'm okay, 'm just not feeling good." He gave her a small smile before flopping back down.

When Wakko presented him with a half eaten chicken and cheese sandwich hours later, Yakko refused to eat. He wouldn't accept help, he could do it himself, and he didn't want to take food from his little brother. He got his own food and took a little care of himself, eventually bouncing back from the apparent stomach bug.

However, Yakko pushing Wakko and Dot away when he was sick and they were just trying to help made Wakko worry about his older brother.

**____________________**

Another two years went by and there was no change in their state. Yakko was thirteen now, acted 20, Wakko was ten, and Dot was nine.

They understood what had happened to them on the second "anniversary" of being locked away.

It fueled a rage in Dot, who had grown into quite a fierce and fiery personality, and Yakko had to watch what he said about the outside world to prevent her from blowing something inside the tower up. Yakko could tell it also pissed Wakko off, though the middle child was a lot less vocal and physical about his opinions.

Yakko was exhausted.

Teaching his siblings every day was draining. Dot had excelled since she started Yakko's version of "school", and had even started reading biographies on big name scientists and poets. It was different with Wakko, however. Yakko found Wakko didn't respond well with the way Yakko's teaching evolved to accompany Dot. Wakko didn't read. He could, but it was extremely difficult for him. One time he had talked about the letters getting all mixed up and floating around, which utterly confused Yakko, until he read up on it.

Wakko had dyslexia. It fit with everything his younger brother described to him, and it wasn't bad, per se. It just made figuring out an effective way of educating Wakko a lot more difficult. Yakko eventually found refuge in providing Wakko with comic books. They were an easier read for him and had pictures on every page, which made it easier for him to enjoy the story without getting frustrated about the words.

Yakko himself kept busy with random books on history. He left it up to whatever he pulled out of his hammerspace to be his next book of the day. He picked one every other day, giving himself enough time to read through the book before and fully comprehend it.

He passed by the calendar by the door every day. It'd been the same one since they'd been thrown in, from three years ago. It served no purpose now but Yakko kept it there. It was a reminder to him of where they started.

**____________________**

They realized they'd stopped aging when Wakko was supposed to be 13. There were no normal changes like Yakko had experienced, puberty he had read it was called. He had experienced the beginnings of that when he was 13, but Wakko hadn't changed at all and it had been a few months. Dot hadn't changed at all since she turned 10, either, and she was supposed to be twelve. It was definitely odd, and it confused Yakko because he hadn't realized he hadn't changed since he was 14 until now.

Reading up on it, it was normal for toons to stop growing up at a certain age. Usually it was because that's the age the toon's creators wanted them to be, but other times it was just a growing development that was loosely related to toon genetics. From his research, Yakko determined he'd always be stuck at age 14, Wakko stuck at 11, and Dot stuck at 10.

What a fucking nightmare.

The tower had grown a lot more crowded with a teenage boy, pre-teen boy, and a pre-teen girl who were all technically supposed to be teens in it. It hadn't been bad when they were little, but now it was just a tight fit. Dot's girl stuff was always lying around and in the way of Yakko, who tripped on some dress or makeup pallette at least once a day. Wakko usually stayed out of the way, but he ate all their food and made a mess with it. Yakko made sure not to leave a lot lying around, but a loose book here and a few articles there made him unexempt from the mess.

But overall, they made do.

They all shared a room in the back part of the tower, tucked away and secure. Yakko had a ball pit and Dot had a bunk bed built over it, while Wakko had a hammock attached that he slept on. But even with their separate beds, Yakko didn't question it when he woke up with one or both siblings tucked against his sides.

It was one of those mornings today, in fact. Yakko had woken up from a decent night's sleep to find a snoozing Wakko tucked into his side. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth as usual, and a string of drool trailed down onto a plastic ball. Yakko smiled to himself, carefully untangling himself from his younger brother. He slipped out of the bedroom and into the main room, closing the door quietly behind him.

The water tower door was the first thing he headed towards.

Every morning, Yakko would attempt to open the water tower door. He only let himself try once or twice so that he didn't get his hopes up. Wakko and Dot sometimes joined in, all three working together to try and open the door, but always to no avail.

They'd tried _everything_.

It had been seven years and they had done everything they could to get out.

"G'morning, Yakko. Watcha up to?" Wakko emerged from the bedroom, yawning as he approached Yakko.

"Just thought I'd go for a little stroll around the lot," Yakko joked sarcastically, motioning towards the steel door. "Give me a hand for round two, then I can make some pancakes?"

Wakko eagerly agreed, assisting Yakko in his second attempt to bust out. It obviously failed, and Yakko retired to making pancakes while Wakko kicked his legs in the air as he perched on a stool at the island.

Both boys turned to greet Dot when she shuffled out of the bathroom. She merely waved, curlers in her hair as she walked off to the bathroom. Yakko returned to the pancakes, flipping one and setting the spatula down.

"Morning," Dot said, plopping into the stool next to Wakko. The curlers were gone and she looked more awake, smiling at Yakko and Wakko before resting her head in her hand. "No luck this morning?"

"Oh, no, we just wanted to have breakfast before we left. It's been open since yesterday," Yakko joked, making sure his tone perfectly conveyed it was a joke to Dot. She groaned in response, rolling her eyes and Yakko grinned.

He liked the quiet mornings like these.

**____________________**

It was year fifteen and Yakko had accepted defeat.

There was no possibility of that tower door opening, either from them or an outside source. And it pissed Yakko off.

**____________________**

After twenty years locked in the tower, Yakko had stopped trying to open the door every day. Why hurt themselves by hoping it opened every time they tried.? Why not just sit back and slowly rot to death instead?

Except that wouldn't happen. Toons can't die.

**____________________**

Year thirty came and went. Yakko found he didn't entirely care anymore.

He just wanted to die already.

He was tired of spending every _single_ day like this. Locked in a fucking tower with his younger siblings for eternity. He couldn't even grow up, either! He was forever stuck as a 14 year old toon in a steel fucking water tower.

He burned the calender from when they were first locked in. It made Wakko cry so he managed to salvage a piece of it for him.

**____________________**

It was the fifty-fifth anniversary. They had been locked in the tower for _fifty-five years_. Yakko was beyond tired of this. Wakko and Dot were too and had been very vocal about it.

Yakko woke up now to find Wakko trying to pry at the door, dropping the bar he had been using and desperately clawing at the metal with his hands instead. Yakko's heart broke at the screams his younger brother let out, and he got out of bed to comfort him. Wakko sobbed, forcefully, as Yakko pulled him into a hug. Dot soon joined, and the three of them let it all out.

The last time they had done this was ten years ago. And now, here they were, ten years later, sobbing in the same manner they did a decade prior.

Yakko was starting to believe they had been forgotten. Left to suffer for eternity.

**____________________**

Yakko woke up early on the eve of their sixtieth anniversary of being locked away. He rolled out of his ball pit, tiredly walking out of the bedroom. He glanced at the water tower door and briefly stopped, wondering if he should try.

It had been sixty years. There wasn't a chance.

He made breakfast for himself, drinking his coffee as Dot then Wakko stumbled into the kitchen, getting their own meals as well. The three ate in silence, the sixtieth anniversary hanging over them like a heavy blanket.

After washing the dishes, Yakko stopped in front of the water tower door once again. Dot was in the bathroom getting ready for the day and Wakko was in his hammock, snoring loudly enough that Yakko could hear it in the living room.

He sighed to himself before reaching out.

He touched a hand to the door before grabbing a mallet from behind his back and slamming it into the metal. The noise was loud, it rang out inside the entire tower but Yakko didn't care about that right now.

Right now he cared about the sliver of outside light that was coming in from the door.

His heart stopped, and he quickly swung his mallet at the door again. It clattered loudly once more, but Yakko's screech of shock was louder.

"Holy fucking- _sibs, sibs,_ the door! Come on, come on, the door!" He yelled, dropping his mallet to the ground as he ran into the bedroom.

"Wakko, come on, get off your ass and get your mallet! Come on!" Wakko was already awake due to the racket Yakko made seconds prior, but quickly jumped into action when he saw the look on Yakko's face.

Yakko sped to the bathroom, throwing the door open as he beckoned Dot out with the same mantra, his younger sister quickly following after him as he raced to the door.

The three of them stared at it in silence for a second, taking in the sight of light before Yakko picked up his fallen mallet.

"Sibs, this is it. We're gonna be _free_." Yakko said, lifting his mallet up behind his head. He looked between Wakko and Dot, who were on either side of him with their own mallets raised. " _This is it_."

With that, the siblings hit the door with all their might, the piercing clang that followed not stopping them as they furiously hit the door, watching in awe as it started to open.

After a few minutes, the three of them dropped a final blow to the door before it was completely unhinged from that side of the tower. Dropping his mallet once more, Yakko stared up at the crack of light in awe.

Wakko grabbed onto his hand and Dot did the same. Yakko looked down at the both of them with a grin before they stepped forward. Yakko dropped Dot's hand and pushed the tower door. It swung open without hesitation, and the screams of joy his siblings let out in that second would stick with Yakko forever.

Wakko and Dot rushed forward, squealing in delight as they joyfully looked around, leaning over the railing of the water tower.

As his siblings waved to the world below them, Yakko crumpled to the floor inside the tower. The realization of _they were **free**_ hit him like a train and he let out a sob, tears that held both joy and sixty years worth of pain flooding from his eyes and down his face as he stared into the light of the outside world.

And as he stood and stepped out of the Warner Brothers Water Tower to join his siblings for the first time in sixty years, only one thought floated through his mind.

They were free.


End file.
